Handsome Furs w/ the Cinnamon Band - Skully's

Apparently people really like Handsome Furs, because the band had a surprisingly large crowd for a late Tuesday night at Skully’s.

It’s particularly surprising because Handsome Furs is a mere side project of Dan Boeckner, who is Spencer Krug’s songwriting partner in Wolf Parade. Boeckner enlisted the help of his wife, Alexei Perry, to create a distinctly different sound arising from the limitations inherent in a two-person band. Boeckner’s rhythmic guitar clips briskly along to the beats Perry lays down on the drum machine, plus her various synth tones.

Though Boeckner’s frantic energy was eye-catching onstage, Perry stole the show as she jumped, danced, gyrated and kicked in her bright sequined outfit behind all the electronics. She was sweaty by the second song, and the recurring smile she flashed was just as sparkly as her top. The enthusiastic (read: drunk) front row couldn’t get enough of her, and even this bleary-eyed critic with a notepad at the back of the room was fully engaged.

Handsome Furs take electro beats that beg you to dance and combine them with big, washed-in-synth choruses that would make Springsteen jealous. The charging rhythms and overall volume of the Skully’s performance made all the songs feel more epic than they do on the band’s 2007 debut, Plague Park. And to sound epic with just two people and no drum set is quite a feat.

The self-described “hosers from Canada” played lots of new stuff, too, including “Evangeline” (about copulating) and “Thy Will” (about cocaine). Plague Park numbers like “Dead + Rural” got the whole crowd bouncing, and “Handsome Furs Hate This City” felt like the perfect summertime jam despite the lyrics. “Life is long and hollow/We hate this city and its drone,” Boeckner sang, but his and Perry’s attitude didn’t reflect the sentiment. From the looks of it, the two appear to be living life to its fullest.

The unfortunately named Cinnamon Band opened the show, filling in for the Witchies, who were supposedly held up at the Canadian border over some sort of work-visa issue. The Virginia guitar and drums duo played with much less gusto than other guitar and drums duos that come to mind (Black Keys, White Stripes).

Most of that stemmed from the singer/guitarist, who didn’t have a trace of charisma, making the band’s set less believable. The songs usually had country overtones, but they ended up sounding like incomplete Tom Petty tunes. And pounding on the drums extra hard didn’t make them feel more complete.

The harmonies were nice, but they couldn’t save the middle-of-the-road songs. I’m also not sure what forgoing a bassist and other musicians is doing for this band. A duo like Handsome Furs could fill the stage with two just fine, but to my ears, the Cinnamon Band’s songs could use the extra oomph another musician or two would bring.